HAITI: La Revenante

For the village of St. Michel-de-1'Atalaye,
high on Haiti's Plateau Central, it was a day of both sadness and fun.
The older folk, according to the Haitian custom, alternately wept &
wailed, feasted, played cards. For the younger ones there were endless
ghost stories and riddles. It was the day of 26-year-old Alina
Souf-frant's funeral.

Alina, a sturdy, black peasant girl, had been paralyzed in both legs for
six months or more. One day she became feverish and lapsed into a coma.
Three days later she stiffened and turned cold; then the wake began.
One ancient Haitian custom was omitted:...